Sarawak polls: Interstate campaigning activities disallowed
The Election Commission (EC) does not allow interstate travel to Sarawak for campaigning activities during the 12th State Election, except for the top five leaders of contesting political parties. The EC stated that entry to Sarawak is subject to the standard operating procedure (SOP) currently in force, and is limited to activities approved in the applications through the enterSarawak portal. It stressed that campaigning activities are allowed within the respective state constituencies. Cross-constituency campaigning is disallowed. Only a maximum of five senior political party leaders, including accompanying officers, bodyguards and drivers (excluding candidates and election agents), for each contesting political party, are allowed to cross constituencies for campaigning. The EC has set the nomination day for today while early voting will be on December 14 and polling day on December 18. (Malay Mail)
Goods in the ‘Malaysian Family Maximum Price Scheme’ is consistently reviewed
The list of items in the ‘Malaysian Family Maximum Price Scheme’ (SHMKM) effective from Dec 7 to 31 will be reviewed continuously as a measure to stabilise the price of essential goods. Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Deputy Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid said the addition or reduction of items in the list which currently included chicken, chicken eggs and some types of vegetables was done based on the current assessment of the market situation. “Besides that, the price may vary by state because it is according to the current market price and takes into account various factors such as price changes, especially for imported goods,” he said. In the meantime, Rosol said the government was still continuing its various operations such as Ops Menu, Ops Catut, Ops Pantai and Ops Pasar 2 to ensure the stability of the price of goods in the market. (Malay Mail)
PM pledges to help with phase 2 of Pan Borneo Highway
The government will ensure construction continuity for phase 2 of Sarawak’s portion of the Pan-Borneo Highway from Limbang – Lawas, said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. The Prime Minister said the allocation for phase two of the project was approved by the previous Barisan Nasional government, but construction was halted after the Pakatan Harapan administration took over in 2018. If construction for phase two of the Pan-Borneo Highway had resumed, locals in Serian would have enjoyed better roads resulting in economic development that would boost the township located 50km from Kuching, he said. Ismail Sabri also said Putrajaya would conduct a detailed study on the construction of the “missing link”, which is the Kuala Baram junction to the Sungai Tujoh immigration and customs complex. The alignment of the Serian section of the Pan-Borneo Highway is 33.65km long. (The Star)
TM confirms signing up for 5G trials with Digital Nasional
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has confirmed it will be conducting 5G trials with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to optimise the services. “During this pilot trial, unifi mobile postpaid customers with certified 5G devices will be able to experience 5G services in selected areas within Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya,” it said in a statement. TM noted that technology and digital connectivity have become a necessity in today’s ecosystem. It said the rollout of 5G will further advance value creation for consumers, micro-SMEs and corporate businesses. DNB, which is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated), has been mandated by the government to be the single neutral party to undertake the deployment of 5G infrastructure and network nationwide. On Dec 3, DNB said it is expected to roll out 10% coverage in Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur by the end of this month, with the cumulative site count of 500 sites. DNB also aims to reach 80% of the populated areas of the country by 2024 with 7,509 sites. (Malay Mail)
High demand seen for bonds
The demand for Malaysian bonds is expected to remain buoyant in the medium to long term, although there could be pressure posed by the more transmissible Omicron variant of the Covid-19 on the foreign holdings of ringgit bonds. Economists and bond analysts said it was still early to tell how this variant may impact the foreign flows into the domestic bond market, as more information is needed to see how virulent the new strain is and the efficacy of the current vaccines. Other hurdles also await the ringgit bond market. The market may feel the heat in the form of quantitative easing (QE) or tapering of asset purchases by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) and the timing of the US interest rate hike in 2022, which could trigger foreign outflows from the local bond market. However, over the medium to long term, foreign investors’ interest would still be supported by the attractive Malaysian yield spread against developed market bonds, albeit capital inflow next year likely to be weaker than in 2021. (The Star)
‘Metaverse’ hype fuels booming digital property market
Feverish predictions of a virtual reality future are pushing investors to bet big on digital real estate. Last week, New York-based company Republic Realm announced it had spent a record-breaking US$4.3mil (RM18.19mil) on digital land through The Sandbox, one of several “virtual world” websites where people can socialise, play games and even attend concerts. That came hot on the heels of a US$2.4mil (RM10.15mil) land purchase in late November on a rival platform, Decentraland, by Canadian crypto company Tokens.com. “Metaverse” has been a Silicon Valley buzzword for months, but interest soared in October after Facebook’s parent company renamed itself “Meta” as it shifts its focus towards VR. According to crypto data site Dapp, land worth more than US$100mil (RM423.10mil) has sold in the past week across the four largest metaverse sites, The Sandbox, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels, and Somnium Space. (The Star)
